Excavating teeth have long been mounted along the digging edge of buckets and other excavating equipment to break up the ground and enhance the digging operation. The teeth are ordinarily formed of a plurality of parts to reduce the size of the outer wear member needing frequent replacement. In general, an excavating tooth comprises an adapter, a point, and a lock typically in the form of a pin to secure the point to the adapter. The adapter has a rear end which is secured to the digging edge of an excavator and a forwardly projecting nose for mounting the point. The point is a tapered wedge-shaped member provided with a forward digging edge and a rearwardly opening socket adapted to be received over the adapter nose.
Excavating teeth are commonly subjected to heavy loading by large forces applied in a wide variety of directions. As a result, the points must be firmly secured to the adapter to withstand the applied forces, but yet be easily removed and installed for effective replacement of the worn points in the field. Further, wearing of the tooth components causes looseness in the connection which in certain circumstances can result in the pin, and hence, the point being lost. In an effort to increase the life of the assembly, the pin is usually set very tightly in the defined opening. Consequently, the pin must be forcibly driven into and out of the opening. The pin is typically inserted by repeated blows with a heavy sledge hammer. As can be appreciated, this is an onerous and time-consuming task, especially in the larger sized teeth.